Former Socceroos goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne says there is a "distaste" between A-League players and the Australian Professional Leagues as the country's top flight reaches a critical fork in the road.
As Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) released its annual report on the 2024-25 season on Thursday, Redmayne, a veteran of nearly two decades of the A-League, said the competition's visibility was at an all-time low.
More than half of the players (52 per cent) questioned in a PFA survey said they were dissatisfied with the APL's running of the competition.
"We want to see the game grow and we want success for the game," Redmayne said.
"I think at the moment there is a little bit of distaste, I would say, between the APL and the players.
"We don't have a say on the key things around the game."
The APL has overseen the administration of the A-League Men and A-League Women since the unbundling from Football Australia in 2020.
But in that time TV viewing figures, attendances and central distributions to clubs have been on a downward trajectory.
"I was with (NRL superstar) James Tedesco the other day, he said, 'So how long have you got off?' And I said, 'We just played round one', so people don't know," said Central Coast Mariners goalkeeper Redmayne.
"There's no visibility around the game. There's nothing about it. It's quite frustrating. That's probably one of my pet peeves."
The frosty relationship between PFA and the APL has only worsened over recent months, when in April the league attempted to force through significant changes to the competition's salary cap.
The APL said the reduced cap of $3 million was meant to ensure clubs remained sustainable.
PFA is set to fight the implementation of those changes as it heads to the negotiation table for a new collective bargaining agreement in the coming months, the same time the A-Leagues attempt to finalise a new broadcast deal.
"Everything's on the table, but ultimately, where we're starting from is that we need to convince them with the strength of our argument and the engagement of the players," said PFA chief executive Beau Busch.
"Hopefully everyone's able to put the best interests of the game first and we're able to build a really strong collective bargaining agreement that can put the game back on its two feet."
The PFA's report said nearly one-third (32 per cent) of ALM players had experienced disordered eating, while 28 per cent of those surveyed reported issues with gambling.
